Bat Without Wings / Bloody Parrot - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Bat Without Wings / Bloody Parrot



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
Bat Without Wings:
1980’s The Bat Without Wings is probably the first film in the series so far that actually comes back to the original Wu Xia style films that made the Shaw Brothers films famous, despite this being the era that the Shaw Brothers tried SO HARD to reinvent themselves in. But even so, that could be why they decided to make the titular villain a rapist instead of just being a maniacal martial arts villain like the days of old. That being said, it really isn’t delved into in the film outside of mentioning it a few times, instead allowing itself to focus on a double-edged mystery that ends up being a traditional double cross…..just with LOTS of highly stylized martial arts.

The story unfolds as a young martial artist named Le Feng is trapped and murdered by a martial arts master, long since thought dead, called “The Bat Without Wings” (played by Tang Chang, covered in white and black face paint that looks like he just came out of a KISS cover band). Having lured the girl there under false pretenses, he ends up dicing the poor girl into pieces and sends her back to her father as a warning. However, the wrongly accused Xiao Qi (Derek Yee Tung-Sing), a master swordsman in the martial arts world, sets out to hunt down and put the legend of the monstrous Bat Without Wings to bed once and for all.

However, getting to and finishing off the Bat Without Wings proves to be tougher than he imagined. An entire cadre of assassins and ne'er-do-wells is looking for the treasure of the legendary villain themselves. And every time they get close to the bat, he vanishes into thin air. As the journey commences, Xiao Qi begins to suspect that there is more to this legend than he’s being told. Especially when the very people who claimed to have killed the Bat Without Wings years ago start turning up dead. Now it’s up to the handsome swordsman and the father of Le Feng to figure out what is happening with the legacy of the Bat Without Wings, and just who is pulling the strings behind the curtain before anyone else turns up dead.

The Bat Without Wings is gleefully over the top, while still remaining true to your typical Wu Xia roots. Tang Ching is so over the top that it’s just a glorious time watching him chew the scenery as the titular villain (who is VERY obviously styled after Gene Simmons if you watch the commentary). Everything else is a typical Wu Xia flick, complete with copious amounts of sword battles, period piece garments galore, and a ghost story that is more of a double cross taken out of films like The Mummy and the like. My only real complaint with the film is that the choreography is kind of subpar. Like most Shaw Brothers films, there is a ton of chaotic fight scenes, and the skills of the actors are quite spectacular. But you can see a lot of busy work in the choreography, to the point where even the average person can see that the stunt men are just milling around trying to make the picture look busy.

Bloody Parrot:
I mentioned in my review of Bat Without Wings that it and Bloody Parrot sort of returned to the typical Wu Xia style films of traditional Shaw Brothers fare. And I still stand by that in principle, but to say that Bloody Parrot is not one of the most gonzo and bizarre films out of ALL the Shaw Brothers filmography is an understatement. It takes the trappings of western sword play, infuses it with classic Wu Xia period piece costumes and sets, then adds in a dash of horror, rampant nudity for no reason, and then pushes the dial all the way to 11 and jams it in that position.

The plot for Bloody Parrot is overly simple, but also overly convoluted and a bit hard to follow (and I’ve been watching Shaw Brothers films since I was a teenager in the 90s). The Bloody Parrot is thought to be a creature of legend similar to a genie. It can grant your wildest wishes, but those desires and wishes come at a cost. A steward for Prince Dian is tasked with transporting the prince’s jewels, but he ends up losing the treasure before he can complete his mission. “Luckily” for him, he runs into the Bloody Parrot, who grants him his wish of regaining the jewels. Later on said Steward decides to use the Parrot once more to resurrect his dead son, but doesn’t realize the malevolent flip side of the coin when his son arises as a zombie. But just as his son arises from the coffin, the Steward's concubine kills the Steward, his newly resurrected son, AND herself to eliminate the curse. Now the entire wealth of Prince Dian’s treasure is once again lost, throwing the entire martial arts world into a tailspin as they attempt to track down the missing jewels.

While that seems simple, it’s pieced together over the next 92 minutes by gleaning little tidbits through the overabundant display on the screen. Needless to say, Bloody Parrot is more of a “style over substance” film, and the plot is doled out in meager morels. Even I, who has spent more than my fair share of deconstructing Shaw Brothers films, had an overly hard time trying to piece together the narrative. And really, the film is best viewed by just sitting back and letting the display on screen play out instead of obsessing over what’s going on. It really doesn’t matter, as this was simply an excuse for the venerable studio to pump out something different and titillating, especially with the horror and random nudity elements it entails. Shaw Brothers was intent on experimentation during the late 70s and early 80s, and you can 100% tell that they were throwing everything at the wall in hopes of something sticking. And in this case, most of the spaghetti thrown at the walls doesn’t stick.




Not Rated by the MPAA / Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Bat Without Wings:
Bat Without Wings is just bathed in neon shades, especially yellows and greens and purples, which just saturate every corner of the film. Everything is vivid and over the top, with bright colored robes for our heroes, hellish greens (the Chinese use green smoke as a sign of hell and evil many times), and luscious brocaded yellow and green silk garments for the ladies. Fine details are generally really good, though I noticed some scenes (such as at the Sima villa) where the characters would look soft and out of focus, while backgrounds would be IN focus (a bit strange, but whatever). Otherwise, this looks quite nice, with thick grain that never looks unnatural, and skin tones that look nice and ruddy. You, of course, can see some of the makeup and wig line a bit easier with how nice it looks, but overall, this is a pleasant upgrade over the streaming version I saw years ago.

Bloody Parrot:
While all of the films in the set so far have been solid 4/5’s for the video, this is the first that I felt was a bit subpar. That’s mainly due to the fact that the grain is a tad heavy and clumping, with a gritty and grungy texture that makes it feel more worn. Most of the film is still quite watchable, and looks way better than the TV viewing I saw a decade or so ago, but overall it just feels like there wasn’t as much time put into it, OR the source material was in worse shape than the others (which is most likely the real answer). There are some vertical stretching effects due to some horizontal compression here and there, but that’s a minor little quibble that most people won’t even notice.








Audio:

Bat Without Wings:
Instead of the dual Mandarin and Cantonese tracks as is the case with most of the films in this set, we get a single Mandarin track in DTS-HD MA Mono that is of slightly lesser quality than the last 3-4 films so far. It’s not bad, and has some strong presence, but it’s overly bright on the top end, and features some distinct distortion every time people. The slightly silly score is impressive, though, giving us plenty of ambiance and power across the front stage and shifting the mood around quite a bit. And while the dialog has a bit of a harsh sound, every word is intelligible and carries good presence in the front of the room.

Bloody Parrot:
Just like Bat Without Wings, Bloody Parrot only sports a singular Mandarin DTS-HD MA Mono track that suffers a tad. There’s some noticeable background hiss throughout the film, and the typical harshness on vocals that scrapes a bit as the actors speak. The score and sound cues are solidly done, and dialog is well placed in the front of the room. The score is a tad soft and light, but still more than serviceable. Again, it may not be a perfect track, but still perfectly intelligible for an aging Shaw Brothers film back when they were struggling.








Extras:

Bat Without Wings
• Commentary by Samm Deighan

Bloody Parrot
• Commentary by Samm Deighan

Final Score: ​

Both Bat Without Wings and Bloody Parrot lean more towards the traditional Shaw Brothers outings than the rest of the films in the set so far. And I ended up linking Bat Without Wings a lot more than I thought I would. Sure, the villain is over the top and goofy, but he hams it up like a Chinese Peter Stormare, and I’m all here for it. Bloody Parrot is a bit stodgy and stuffy for a Shaw Brothers film, but it still has some fun fights and decent acting for the time. Both are a nice break from the comedic stylings of the last several films, and the supernatural elements are back to the good old fake-out genre. Sadly, the only extras are a commentary with Samm Deighan, but he offers some good insights into the shaky production of both films.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Fei Ai, Shen Chan, Chuen Chiang, Li Ching, Miao Ching, Jason Piao Pai, Tony Liu
Directed by: Yuen Chor / Shan Hua
Written by: Yuen Chor / Lung Ku, Kuang Ni
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 AVC (Both Films
Audio: Mandarin: LPCM Mono (Both Films)
Subtitles: English
Studio: Arrow Video
Rated: NR
Runtime: 88 Minutes / 92 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: December 9th, 2025

Recommendation: Fun Watch